🌎 Is Genesis next?

Good morning, Quartz readers!

Here’s what you need to know

Genesis engaged in high-risk lending practices. Crypto’s largest lender, which halted operations last week fearing contagion from FTX’s collapse, at times offered loans that were unsecured or secured with collateral from other clients.

A rail strike looms over the US festive period. Four unions have now rejected a tentative deal brokered in September over failure to address demands for better working conditions.

A Peter Thiel-backed conservative fintech startup shut down. Merely two months after launching, GloriFi has closed shop.

TikTok defied Silicon Valley job cuts with plans to double its California staff. The social media platform has reportedly sought to recruit some of the software engineers laid off by Meta and Twitter.

Paramount pulled the plug on Simon & Schuster’s sale to Penguin Random House. The mega publishing merger was effectively dead in the water after a judge blocked it in October.

Indonesia was struck by a deadly earthquake. A 5.6 magnitude quake hit the main island of Java, killing more than 160 people.

South Korea’s spy agency identified the girl pictured with Kim Jong Un at a missile launch. She is believed to be the second child of the secretive North Korean leader.

What to watch for

Until recently, west Africa’s Gulf of Guinea had a reputation for being a hotbed for piracy. But following reports of progress in 2021, the UN Security Council in May unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a crackdown on piracy in the region.

At a meeting today (Nov. 22) to check on its progress, the numbers should paint a promising picture for efforts at national, regional, and international levels to tackle crimes at sea.

Nigeria, the largest country and economy in the area, took a leadership role with the 2021 launch of the $195 million Deep Blue Project, which provides personnel and vessels to guard regional waters. Cooperation and support from countries such as China and the US have also been key to the reduction of attacks.

Make no mistake, pirates in the Gulf of Guinea aren’t just a regional problem. Fewer pirates also means fewer shipping delays, safer crews, and lower insurance premiums around the world.

Happy 19th recall this year, Tesla!

Three weeks into November, Tesla is already on its fourth recall of the month. Because, for the most part, the issues don’t require owners to make physical repairs—Elon Musk bristles at being made to even use the word “recall” for over-the-air software fixes—industry watchers aren’t sounding alarm bells.

But there could be bigger threats ahead: If Tesla doesn’t find and rectify glitches in time there may be legal trouble. A US Justice Department criminal probe into the company and its executives over self-driving claims is already underway. Massachusetts senator Ed Markey has also warned Musk that Congress will intervene unless he stops “putting profits over people and his debt over stopping disinformation.”

At this point, though, Musk’s personal actions have been moving the needle on Tesla’s stock price a lot more than the automaker’s constant recalls.

Fun(?) fact! Radio Flyer’s $1,900 toy electric ATV for kids, which retailed exclusively on Tesla’s site, violated federal rules. All 5,000 sold had to be recalled and disabled, and Radio Flyer had to give full refunds.

GOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLL (?)

The 2022 World Cup’s first goal was decided with the help of a video assistant referee, otherwise known as a VAR. You’ll hear about it a lot this year, sometimes happily, and sometimes with a good amount of hissing.

VARs combine technology with human judgment to review any “clear and obvious error” potentially made by refs on the field. But how to spot that error? Watching from a TV at the sidelines, of course. It’s nerve wracking, it’s effective, and it routinely breaks and remakes the hearts of football fans all over.

Decide where you fall in the never-ending VAR debate after you read our next Weekly Obsession. It’s free, and it’s fascinating.

✦ Want to help support Quartz VAR (Very Assiduous Reporting)? Grab a membership now, at 50% off our usual price.

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Surprising discoveries

NASA found two ancient galaxies, far, far away… These members of the primal universe are much brighter than scientists would’ve expected.

Meta gave a failing grade to its AI that writes academic papers... Galactica AI just spewed out biased gobbledegook for three days straight.

…while another AI has been booted up to predict World Cup match outcomes. Al Jazeera’s “Kashef” says it’s a 52% chance Denmark will beat Tunisia today (Nov. 22).

A flock of sheep in China walked in circles for 12 days. Where’s Babe the sheep-pig when you need him?

The internet *cough Tumblr* collectively invented a fake 1973 Martin Scorsese film. It’s called “Goncharov” and already has plenty of fan art. And a theme song.

Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, AI that predicts where sheep will walk, and “That’ll do, pig,” to hi@qz.com. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Ananya Bhattacharya, Sofia Lotto Persio, Julia Malleck, and Susan Howson.